COSI is a vibrant hub of scientific activity, engaging nearly one million learners of all ages through our onsite and outreach experiences. We inspire an interest in science and encourage people to want to learn more are the amazing world around them. Through a recent partnership with the Nationwide Children's Hospital Autism Treatment Network, COSI invited Dr. James Mulick, a physician with Nationwide Children's Hospital, to provide a free lecture titled "Understanding the Child Brain and Autism". We were thrilled with the attendance, which included parents, students, and teachers interested in learning more about Autism, and it also provoked an interest in not only myself, but also the Autism Treatment Network at Nationwide Children's Hospital to forge a partnership.

What exactly was that interest in..? We both wanted to know...How can we make COSI more enjoyable for children on the autism spectrum?COSI is a vibrant hub of scientific activity, engaging nearly one million learners of all ages through our onsite and outreach experiences. Through a recent partnership with the Nationwide Children's Hospital Autism Treatment Network, COSI had to an opportunity to bring in Dr. James Mulick, a physician with Nationwide Children's Hospital, to offer a lecture on "Understanding the Child Brain and Autism". Not only did this event bring in several parents, students, and teachers interested in learning more about Autism, but it also provoked an interest in not only myself, but also the Autism specialist at Nationwide Children's Hospital.

We both wanted to know...How can we make COSI more enjoyable for children on the Autism Spectrum?

Today we got COSI's first MakerBot Replicator 2 3D Printer! COSI's Electronic Engineer, Mike Schoenborn, and I were the lucky ones who got to start it up - much easier than I expected. We've already printed our first test object, "Mr. Jaws."

Warm sunny weather provides the perfect opportunity for parents to power down electronic screens and chase their kids out of the house and into the great outdoors.

Makes sense, right?

After all, increased screen time leads to decreased physical activity and increased snacking, essential ingredients for obesity. But let's face it... the great outdoors has problems of its own: injuries!

Head contusions, bee stings, lacerations, broken bones and sprained ankles. You don't get these from a couple hours on the PlayStation. Let your kids run around outside, and you have a different story.

Still, the benefit of outdoor activity outweighs the risk. And there are things you can do to prevent injuries, such as cycling with helmets, skating with knee pads and wrist guards, taking swimming lessons, and good old-fashioned adult supervision.

But sometimes our best effort still leads to an accident. At these times, parents ask themselves an important question: Where do we turn for help?

Just over three and a half billion years ago, in the direction of the constellation Leo the Lion, something big happened – something very, very big. That very big something caused a beam of intensely energetic (yet invisible) light to fly our way. It's been traveling toward us all this time, as our Earth evolved and changed, until finally, on April 27, 2013, it reached our planet.

On that date, astronomers operating telescopes in orbit around the Earth recorded the most powerful gamma ray burst they'd seen in decades. Now those same astronomers are anxiously watching the same patch of sky for what they believe must follow, a giant stellar explosion called a supernova. If they can spot it, they will learn much about stars, their moments of death, and the origin of us all.

With spring finally here and the weather warming up, it's time to get outside and explore the many wonders around us.

Spring also means it's time for the annual "Backyard Science Day" at COSI, and I couldn't be more excited.

The event is Saturday, April 27, and I personally encourage parents to bring their children out to COSI for a fun-filled day that includes interactive, hands-on demonstrations and take-home materials intended to help guests explore everything there is to know about their own backyards. The backyard is important in that it is where many children start to understand and connect with nature.